The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

Are there any stars or engineers etc. whom worked for Edison or Victor that are still alive today?

It seems that some of these people were still alive in the 1980's and the 1990's.

Victrolacollector wrote:Are there any stars or engineers etc. whom worked for Edison or Victor that are still alive today?

It seems that some of these people were still alive in the 1980's and the 1990's.

Highly unlikely. Someone who was just 18 at the end in 1929 would be 105 now...

Georgia Warren, the last surviving participant of the famous Bristol Sessions organized by Ralph Peer for Victor in 1927, turned 100 last year. But then she died. Unless you can find a child who recorded before 1929 you're probably SOL. Certainly no stars left living. Earliest I can think of are people like Doris Day and Vera Lynn who began in the late 30's, early 40's.

I met Spiegel Willcox, trombonist with Jean Goldkette's Orchestra, in 1998. He was still playing at that time. He passed away the following year

Even Master Ernest Lough died in 2000.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernest_Lough

Ernest Lough. Note the recording equipment!

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=06TGRxJ8KFE

In 2003, Irving Peskin, trumpeter of the Piccadilly Players gave an interview to Jerry Fabris. It was aired over two shows and can be heard in full on WFMU's archive site:


https://wfmu.org/playlists/shows/8804

https://wfmu.org/playlists/shows/8964

dennis wrote:Ernest Lough. Note the recording equipment!

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=06TGRxJ8KFE

That footage of the cutting engineer inspecting a lacquer is probably later than when Lough was recording in the 20's. They should have been using the old wax biscuits in his time.

I'm guessing they threw in whatever stock film / images they had to access for that little doc.

At 5:58 of the Lough doc, there is someone cutting a wax on an old gravity weight cutter. That was taken in the control room of studio 2 at EMI's Abbey Road complex. Not sure when.